


The Most "Wonderful" Time of the Year

by MrsNoraPalmer



Series: 25 Days of Darhkatom [11]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, also baby tori, and also working issues, and i don't know how timelines work, and ray wears a sweater nora thought she had burned, but fluff, the palmers host christmas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-21 13:34:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17044673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrsNoraPalmer/pseuds/MrsNoraPalmer
Summary: Nora and Ray are hosting Christmas with Ray's family for the first time. How will it go?





	The Most "Wonderful" Time of the Year

**Author's Note:**

> Day eleven of 25 days of Darhkatom! Feel free to click the through the series to see the others! Basically, I will be posted all loosely related (unless stated otherwise) fics for 25 days straight!

Nerves churned in Nora’s stomach. Their first Christmas hosting. It was Christmas Eve. Part one of two. Would it be a disaster? She and Ray had been trying to prep in between Christmas shopping, his work, and taking care of a two month old. Victoria was for the most part a really good baby. But when she was in a mood, it wasn’t pretty. Right now Tori was sleeping in a bassinet in the living room while Nora finished setting the table in the dining room. It would be the first time that all of the Palmers had been together since Thanksgiving last year. In that whole time span she and Ray had gotten engaged, married, and had a baby, and also met that baby as an adult and helped her figure out how to defeat an enemy and send her back to her own time.

Now it would be merely an hour before her house, the childhood home of Ray and Sydney, where Sandy raised her two boys into adulthood, would be filled yet again with Palmers in every room. Nora kept smoothing down the table runner, making sure it was perfectly straight when she felt arms come around her from behind. She jumped, too wrapped up in her own head to realize Ray had come home and had been calling for her.

She felt Ray press a kiss to her neck and Nora turned in his arms to greet him.

“Hi.” She smiled.

“Hi there,” Ray kissed her forehead. “Arranging the table for the fourteenth time?” 

Nora looked away, trying to hide her guilt. “I just want this to be perfect, your family hasn’t seen us since so many things have changed. They have a grandchild to meet and I’m hoping that will distract from however I fail tonight because at least three things will go wrong and I will probably be to blame for all of them.”

Ray rubbed her upper arms, trying to comfort her. “Hey… this is going to be a good night. My family will act however they act no matter what you do. They like you and they will probably spend most of the time gushing over how cute our baby is. It’ll all be okay. Say it with me.”

Nora took in a deep breath and exhaled. “It will all be okay.” She said in unison with Ray.

“Okay, now that that’s settled, how is the ham coming along?” 

Ray walked with her into the kitchen where all kinds of Christmas aromas invaded his senses. The last thing that needed to finish was the ham and all of the other side dishes were being kept warm. The timer was almost up and Ray was quite giddy to get to slice the ham.

Nora, who noticed her husband hadn’t bothered to change out of his work attire, patted his chest gently. “Go get changed, Ray Palmer, you are not getting brine all over your nice suit. Dress in something festive, it’s Christmas after all!”

“You are absolutely right!” He grinned and leaned in to kiss her softly.  
xxxx

Ray came back into the kitchen just a few minutes later in a pair of black pants and a Christmas sweater… that lit up… and made noise.

Nora could have sworn she threw that thing out when she first saw it. WHERE DID HE FIND ANOTHER? 

This was not a problem Nora could even begin to worry about. Ray saddled up to where Nora had pulled the ham out of the oven and had set it on a cooling rack on the stove. Ray went to town slicing it, trying to make even slices good for plating.

Nora watched her husband, lost in the moment remembering their last Christmas on the waverider. They had just gotten engaged and Ray also took the liberty of cutting the ham then too. Nora still hadn’t been sure of her place on the crew so she had stood quietly in the corner and Charlie had offered her a hot toddy. She had taken it, a symbol of solidarity and had joined the rest of the group’s festivities.

Now they would be spending their time away from the Legends and with Ray’s family instead. It was so odd. The Legends had become her family. They were honestly the only family she had on her own but she supposed now Ray’s family was her family too.

Ray looked over at his wife who was lost in thought again. He took a break from the ham and went to her. “What’s on your mind?”

Nora shrugged. “Just missing our friends that’s all. Thinking about this time last year. How much has changed. But for the better, it’s nice to share a bathroom with just you and not eight other people. But I also miss their chaos.”

“We’ll see them. They’re picking us up for New Year’s Eve. It’ll be fun. We haven’t decided what year to ring in but we’ve got it narrowed down.”

Nora nodded. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right. I’m sorry I feel like such a downer, it’s Christmas, but it’s different and I’m having a hard time reconciling it all. I also really don’t want to screw things up with your family.”

“You won’t. I promise.”

They were leaning in for a kiss when they heard a knock on the door. Nora smiled and shook her head. “I’ll get it.”

Ray shook his head. “No they’re my family, I’ll get it, can you get the buffet line organized?”

Nora nodded and watched her husband disappear from the kitchen into the living room and to the front door. 

Ray opened the door to see five Palmers all standing outside, looking cold as if he didn’t get to the door fast enough. He had.

Ray faked a smile and gestured for them to come inside. “Hi guys! Welcome in!”

Sydney rolled his eyes. “No need to welcome us, Ray, we grew up here.”

“Ah but my favorite nephews didn’t!” Ray tried to be cool and offer them a high five. 

They didn’t reciprocate.

“We’re your ONLY nephews,” Colin said. “So therefore we are obviously your favorite. By default.”

Ray just smiled. This would be interesting. 

All the Palmers settled into the living room and Sandy made a beeline for the sleeping figure in the bassinet.

“Oh Ray, look at this! My first granddaughter! She’s so gorgeous and look at all that hair!”

Ray grinned and peered at his daughter over his mom’s shoulder. “Yeah, she looks a lot like Nora. But that hair is both of us.” He chuckled. “Do you want to hold her?”

“Yes! Of course!” Sandy answered with glee.

Ray smiled and picked up his daughter, who had been sleeping for the past two hours ago, to hand her over to her grandmother. Victoria stirred but didn’t fuss much. She fixated on Sandy’s face and reached up.

Sandy noticed that Victoria was still dresses in a Christmas themed sleeper. A red and white polka dot fleece sleeper which a reindeer on it and little reindeer heads on the feet. 

“Why is she not dressed in a little Christmas dress? I wanted to take pictures.” Disappointment riddled Sandy’s voice.

Ray shrugged. “Nora has been organizing and cooking the entire day by herself until I got home from work like 20 minutes ago. I’m sure one of the last things on her mind was changing Tori and especially if Tori was being good and sleeping while Nora could get other stuff done. I’m sure she’ll change her before pictures.”

Sandy nodded. “Okay. I mean I could just change her. I haven’t even seen her nursery I’m sure Nora wouldn’t care?”

Ray gave his mom a look. “Let Nora do this. It’s her daughter’s first Christmas. Let her put her in whatever outfit she wants. And Tori is fine in the sleeper for now.”

Sandy only huffed in response. 

Nora came into the living room and settled at Ray’s side. “Hi everyone, I’m so glad you guys could make it. I see you’re getting acquainted with our little Tori, she’s a good baby so she can probably handle getting passed around to everyone.” 

“Doesn’t she need to get changed first?” Sandy asked. 

Nora shrugged. “She is due for a diaper change, so I can take her and handle that while everyone starts on food.”

“No I mean into her Christmas outfit.”

Nora looked up at Ray and then back to Sandy. “Oh! I’ll do that too when I get her changed.”

Nora gently took Tori from Sandy. “I’ll be back!” She started walking in the direction of Tori’s nursery.

“Do you need help?” Sandy asked.

“No I think I’m good, thanks though, Sandy!”

Nora had to get away. An extra five people in her house already felt overwhelming. She wasn’t sure if she could take a whole night of it. Plus they were coming back over the next day? What was this? She looked at her daughter who was just observing everything and laid her down gently on the changing table. She had her dress draped there already from this morning and started changing her.

She heard a knock on the door and really hoped it wasn’t her mother in law.

“Hey how are you holding up?”

Relief flooded her at the sound of her husband’s voice. She glanced over her shoulder and shrugged. 

“I’m okay, happy to have some time with just me and my best girl while she’s being good and awake.” Nora started changing Tori into her frilly red dress. It had a white top that said “my first christmas” in red script and a tutu for the skirt. She put white leggings on her underneath and finished off the look with glittery red slippers and a stretchy red headband.

Nora picked Victoria up and asked Ray to get the moby wrap for her. She settled Victoria into it and secured it. She caught a glance of herself in the mirror in Tori’s room and she couldn’t believe the sight. Two years ago Nora Darhk was wielding dark magic after having just resurrected her father to help release a time demon who would accomplish their plan of world domination. Now Nora was a wife and mom who was settling her infant daughter into a wrap that made Tori cling to her like a tiny octopus. 

My how things have changed.

xxxx

Tori has fallen back asleep between the walk from Tori’s nursery to Nora settling down at the table for dinner. She observed all of her husband’s family interacting with everyone but them and reached for his hand. She knew being away from them, between the explosion at Palmer Tech and claiming himself alive again, it had changed the dynamic of his family significantly. 

She knew Ray had tried to change things, get them to go back to any sense of normal, but it was also just so different now. Ray had a family of his own and Nora wondered why sometimes it almost seemed like his family was less than thrilled by that…

“Ray,” his brother Sydney started, “can I just say it’s good to see you back in the papers as the CEO of Palmer Tech rather than the ATOM taking down whatever villain had decided to crop up that day.”

Nora furrowed her brow and looked at her husband.

“I mean, it’s good to be back at a more predictable job especially with Nora being at home with Tori most of the day, I know I’m going to come home to my girls and that’s a huge relief but I haven’t totally hung up my suit.” He gave Nora a small smile and she squeezed his hand.

Sandy’s eyes widened. “That’s dangerous Ray, building that damn thing is what took you away from us. Why would you want to keep doing that when the stakes are so high now with your new family.”

Nora noticed the way Sandy had said “new family” and had a strong feeling that things were about to step up in the level of family drama.

What she wouldn’t do for a glass of wine right now.

“I still feel like I have a duty to protect people even if Nora and I have settled down. She understands. She knows that cities still need protecting and I have the means to do them. If Tori wasn’t so little she’d be out there with me protecting the innocent.”

Sandy made a horrified face. “You two would seriously put your safety at risk, risk your daughter growing up an orphan because of your reckless behavior.”

Nora pinched the bridge of her nose. “With all due respect, Sandy, my parents died when I was twelve. I know the risks that Ray and I take and we know our limits. He doesn’t go flying off at the sign of every last bit of trouble. There other people like him in Central City and Star City for a reason. And they’ve been doing that there for a lot longer than he has. So he gets it. We both do. We have a responsibility to our family first. We’re not going to ever go out and get ourselves killed and leave Tori and whatever other future children we may have without parents. My life took a dark turn when my parents died. I won’t make the same mistakes they did.”

Sandy was quiet for a moment. “You all seem to only take into consideration what’s best for your daughter or the other person. It’s been like that since the day he met you, Nora. He’s telling us oh I met this girl. And then we meet you and you’re nice enough, maybe not as warm and inviting as Anna, but acceptable and then all of a sudden he’s saying he’s proposed which we knew he was going to do but didn’t know how soon and then you all are married,” she looked at Ray, “and then I get a message that oh whoops you forgot to tell us that Nora is pregnant and then we have a grandchild we haven’t been able to meet until today. You’ve shut us out and I am your mother, just trying to look out for your safety after all you we’re dead to us and the world for six months. We mourned you and then you came back but you didn’t try and re-acclimate into our family. You just made a new one with her.”

Ray sighed. “Mom, I tried but you all just kept treating me like I was an alien or that I was different. The ATOM suit was the only new part of me but I was still the same Ray and honestly? That guy had kind of turned into an asshole. You didn’t seem to mind that part just the whole suit thing and then I end up joining a cause that did make me a better person and because of it I met Nora and I was tired of letting life and love slip through my fingers. We had no problem going at the pace we did because neither one of us knew if we were destined to lose it all, again. That’s why. That’s why I made a family with Nora because it was about damn I did. And I’ve been happier and a better person for it and I didn’t tell you guys stuff all the time because I got tired of trying to make you guys see that.”

Sandy was going to try and a get a word in when Tori woke up and started wailing in Nora’s arms. Nora excused herself from the table and went to the living room. She unwrapped Tori and rocked her gently, trying to soothe her. Nora could tell Tori probably woke sensing all the tension in the room, especially given how much anxious it was making Nora and did the only thing she knew to do: cry. 

Nora hummed softly to her daughter and she looked up, seeing Ray walking into the living room. Nora sat down in the recliner and gently rocked Tori and gave Ray a sad smile.

“Hey,” she said and kissed Tori’s forehead and continued to rock her.

“How are my girls?” Ray asked and took Nora’s hand that wasn’t supporting Tori.

Nora sighed. “We’re okay. Just trying to calm down. The both of us.” She hummed quietly against Tori’s temple hoping the sensation would calm her.

Ray shook his head. “I’m sorry about my mom and I’m sorry if I raised my voice at any point during my reply that caused our little one here to freak out.”

Nora looked at him in awe. Always willing to own up to mistakes he didn’t even make. “No, that’s not at all what happened. I was getting pretty anxious listening to all of that and I think being so tense is what woke her up. You didn’t do anything wrong. I get why your mom is hurt, and I’m sorry I took you away from your family.”

“You’re my family too, Nora, they need to accept that. You’re the part of my family that gets priority over them. You’re my wife and now I have a daughter to look out for as well. They’re just being stubborn. They’ve always been like that.”

Nora shook her head. “No Ray… that’s sweet and true I am I guess your family now but we’ve never really given them the time or opportunity to get used to me being your family now. Last year you brought me around as your girlfriend and in the blink of an eye I became your fiancée and then your wife and now the mother of your child. All before they had a chance to get used to me being a step more important in your life, we were already ahead of them and having a baby. I don’t think we’ve been very fair to them. It hurt yeah, when your mom made the dig about not being as nice as Anna but so much changed after that and we haven’t given them a shot to adjust.”

Ray kissed her knuckles. “You are amazing, Nora Palmer. I can’t believe the amount of strength you hold inside of you. I thought we’d given them all the time in the world but maybe we should’ve spent that time around them a little more to physically see how our family was changing but with the Legends and then everything with Tori, I just wanted to protect our little family, not really consulting the family I already had.”

“So why don’t we go in there and talk with them a little more, civilly this time.” She looked down to see Tori had fallen asleep again. 

Nora stood with Ray’s help and walked back into the dining room. She approached her mother in law. “Sandy, I think that Tori might stay settled a little more in the arms of her grandmother, don’t you agree?” She smiled softly at the older woman.

Sandy, almost moved to tears held out her arms for her granddaughter. “I would think so.” She took Tori into her arms and held the sleeping baby against her. “She’s quite beautiful. I really think Ray was right. She takes after you, Nora.”

Nora smiled, hiding her blush. “Thank you, Sandy.” Nora took her place next to Ray at the table again. “So, Sydney, how is your business doing? You build robotics kits for different skill levels and distribute them to schools right?” Nora asked and dig into her mashed potatoes.

Sydney, almost thrown at how Nora tried to shift things back to normal, recovered and replied. “Yeah. Ugh… it’s going great. We have them in 80% of accredited high schools in america.”

“That’s awesome! And Rose…” she turned her attention to her sister-in-law, “You run an independent bookstore here in town, don’t you?”

Rose nodded. “Yeah, we’ve recently gotten a lot of distributors wanting to put more mainstream books in the store which is a huge help. Indie bookstores aren’t just for raunchy romance novels anymore!”

Nora smiled. “That’s so nice! And you boys,” Nora gestured to Colin and Matthew with her fork, “are in the fourth and fifth grade, right?”

“That’s correct, Aunt Nora.” Colin replied proudly. “Even though I’m in fifth grade I read up to a tenth grade reading level.” He tugged on the collar of his shirt.

Nora was struck by the “aunt” tacked onto her name. She’d never been someone’s aunt before but she recovered. “That’s awesome Colin, read as much as you can. Books were some of my only friends growing up. What do you like to read?”

The group continued to make actually not painful and actually good conversation until they were on their way out the door. Hugs were exchanged, kisses were showered over a bubbly and awake baby Tori, and they wished them a safe travels back to their respective homes.

Ray and Nora both leaned against the door when it finally shut, thoroughly exhausted at all of the people interaction they just had to subject themselves to for the last few hours.

Nora sighed happily now that it was just her, Ray, and Tori and kissed Ray softly.

“I will be so happy that after tomorrow we probably won’t have to see them until Easter,” Ray finally admitted.

Nora chuckled. “Me too, babe, me too.” She patted his chest and headed towards Tori’s nursery, ready to settle her into her crib before retiring for the night with Ray.


End file.
